


In Search of Summer

by AdmantCrow



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Australia, Best Friends, Christmas, Content for me, Day At The Beach, Exploration, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Melodrama, Piano, Romance, Sharing a Room, Shopping, Summer Vacation, Vacation, soft, travelling, wingman
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-04-16 06:06:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14158428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdmantCrow/pseuds/AdmantCrow
Summary: Kaede invites her closest friends, Shuichi, Maki and Kaito on a two week vacation to Australia, to get away from the freezing winter and to join her on a series of concerts across Australia. Whilst there, the squad explores a very different culture, a blazing summer just as hot as their winter as cold, and discover exactly how each of them feel about each other.





	1. A Surprise Vacation

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my newest story! I can honestly say I have no idea how long this story will go for, as I've yet to decide how much content will be dedicated on each of the four cities the characters will visit. In the meantime, strap in and enjoy the ride!

“We’re on a plane.” Shuichi muttered, staring out the window as if they were about to head towards a different planet. He yawned gently as dawn broke on the horizon.  
  
“Really? I wasn’t sure until you told me for the seventh time.” Kaede replied, yawning as she stretched her arms behind his head. Her best friend ignored him as he continued to murmur.   
  
“I dunno why I agreed, I mean, I’ve only been out of the country once with my uncle! What if something happens and we can’t get back, or we get mugged, or-”   
  
“Shuichi.” Kaede turned over in her chair to face him. “Just relax. Close your eyes for a few minutes. Hum your favourite song until we’re in the air.” She patted him on the shoulder tolerantly, feeling a bit of headache coming on. “Just… don’t think too much for a little bit.” “...”   
  
“...”   
  
“...How do you think the others are doing at the front?” Kaede sighed again. She always got headaches when she had to fly, and dealing with Shuichi’s anxiety wasn’t helping.  
_“Why didn’t I get to sit with Maki? That would’ve been much more…”_ Kaede up at the ceiling, calming her headache as she imagined yet another scenario involving her and Maki, as Shuichi continued to blabber.

“How do you think Shuichi and Kaede are doing at the back?” Kaito asked Maki, who had her eyes fixed to the book in front of her.  
  
“Dunno.” She replied in a monotone voice, not looking up. Kaito grimaced, trying to breach her ironclad concentration.   
  
“It’s a shame Kaede couldn’t bring a tiny piano on to the plane, she could probably relax all of the passengers!”   
  
“Probably.” Maki replied again. Kaito wracked his brain, trying to think of anything else.   
  
“Shame we couldn’t all sit together. Kaede looked devastated that we had to split up.” For the briefest moment, Maki smiled just a little bit, gripping the edges of her book a little tightly.   
  
“...Yeah. It is a shame.” Kaito nodded, wishing he could stretch his legs properly.   
  
“How long is the flight, anyway?”   
  
“About ten hours. I had to catch a flight there years ago.”   
  
“O-Oh, right…”

* * *

 

A week ago, Shuichi, Kaito and Maki had been together in Kaito’s room, discussing their upcoming holiday. To be more accurate, their winter break didn’t begin for another week, but classes at Hope’s Peak had all but stopped anyway, giving the young adults a lot of time on their hands. Maki was reclining back on Kaito’s bed wrapped in a blanket, flicking through her phone, as Shuichi stared out at the snow-laden courtyard, not looking out of place from a horror film.  
  
“Shuichi, what are you looking at now?” Maki asked, looking up from her phone.   
  
“It’s going to be the coldest Christmas break in years, apparently.” Shuichi grimaced. “I never did well with the cold.”   
  
“Aren’t you being a little dramatic?” Maki replied, shaking her head at him. “The cold isn’t too bad once you get used to it.”   
  
“S _ays the person all toasty in a blanket”_ Shuichi muttered under his breath.   
  
“What was that? ” Maki stared at her friend. The Ultimate Detective panicked and pointed at his TV, where a purple shape could be seen lurking behind it.   
  
“I-I said, I wonder if Kaito’s fixed the TV yet?” Maki frowned but backed off from his comment.   
  
“You can’t rush perfection, guys!” Kaito’s voice emerged from behind the TV, grumbling some expletive as he entered hour two of being a TV repairman.   
  
“It’s amazing.” Maki noted, stretching out on the bed. “That someone who’s been trained to perform emergency repairs on a space station, can’t repair a TV.” Kaito’s grumbling grew louder for a few moments, but he didn’t say anything.   
  
At this moment, a few light knocks sounded from the door, Kaito calling from behind the TV for them to come in.   
  
“Sorry to intrude~” Kaede peeked her from behind the door, dressed in a large fluffy coat, causing Shuichi to snap out of his winter-induced depression. Maki peeked out from behind her phone, her eyes lighting up a little as her friend returned.   
  
“Kaede! When’d you get back?” Kaede had been away for the last week, performing three different piano concerts across the country.   
  
“Just now, as a matter of fact. Concerts went good, standing ovations and all.”   
  
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone be so matter-of-fact about a standing ovation.” Maki mused, sitting up against the wall.   
  
“W-Well, when you get them so often, they just kind of become… sorta everyday?”   
  
“I get what you mean, Kaede!” Kaito called out from his new home behind the TV. “Feels like every other night I dream about flying out into space, the crowds watching the launch applauding as I strike through the final frontier…” Maki and Shuichi audibly groaned as Kaito talked about his slightly self-obsessed dreams.   
  
“Uh…Kaito?” Kaede said, somewhat confused.   
  
“Yeah?   
  
“Where are you?” She smiled a little, trying to work out where he was concealed. She had to suppress a giggle when a purple sleeve emerged from above the TV, waving at it’s friend. “Got it. Broke the TV again?”   
  
“It’s a long story, involving me, Shuichi, a pizza, and discovering they were having an all-night marathon of a beloved English comedy.” Kaede raised her eyebrows, even more confused as Shuichi chuckled to himself, as if remembering a pleasant memory. “Hell of a night, that was.”   
  
“Don’t ask, Kaede.” Maki warned her, shaking her head. “It’s _just_ as stupid as it sounds.”   
  
“I-I see.” Kaede noted, nodding her head. “Stupid night or not, could you come out, Kaito? There’s something I want to speak to you guys about.” Kaito gave her a thumbs up and emerged from behind the TV.

* * *

 

The four teenagers sat on Kaito’s bed, wondering what Kaede had to tell all of them. Well, all except Kaito, who had been given the ‘honour’ of sitting on the floor, despite it being _his_ bed, simply because he was just too damn lanky.   
  
“So…” Maki lent against the wall, pulling the blanket over her legs. “What’d you want to speak to us about, Kaede.” She smiled slightly at the blonde pianist, a nice alternative to the half-scowl that normally inhabited her face.   
  
“Do you guys have plans for the winter break?” Kaede asked. “Anything at all?”   
  
“Nah, I’ve got nothing this year. Grandma and Grandpa are on a a trip this time of year, so I get together with them a little later in the year, usually.” Kaito crossed his arms and nodded. “So I’ll be free until class comes back.”   
  
“Oh, where are they at the moment?” Shuichi asked his friend.   
  
“They’re over in Australia at the moment, visiting Brisbane, I guess? Grandma always wanted to visit there, plus it's waaaay warmer there right now, so it’s good for them to get out of this cold snap.”   
  
“A-Australia, you say?” Kaede said, somewhat surprised.   
  
“Man, I’d love to get out of this cold.” Shuichi said, pulling his jacket a little tighter around him. “Can’t remember the last time I saw the sun.”   
  
“Y-yeah. W-What about you, Shuichi? Anything planned?” Again, Shuichi shook his head, shrugging.   
  
“No, I planned to just stay at school and catch up with some things. It’s too cold to go out and do things, anyway.”   
  
“So, you guys have nothing? Great!” Shuichi and Kaito looked at each, confused.   
  
“Hey, what about Maki Roll? You didn’t ask her!” Kaito declared. Maki flashed him a scowl, Kaede shrugging a little bit at his question.   
  
“I already knew Maki’s plans - originally, we were going to head out into the country together for a few days, go visit some-” Kaede yelped slightly as Maki elbowed her in the ribs, making her jump. Maki’s face had gone pink, clearly embarrassed about the details of her planned outing with Kaede.   
  
“L-Like she says, it doesn’t matter. J-Just move on.” Maki crossed her arms and glared at the two boys, who were trying to suppress their laughter at Maki’s over the top reaction.  

“Anyway…” Kaede continued, rubbing her ribs where Maki had elbowed them. “So, I’ve had this string of concerts, right?” The three other teenagers nodded. “Well, it was a real last-minute kind of situation, and the organiser was incredibly grateful for me flying out to do them. Not that it was a problem for me, or anything.”  
  
“Yeah, it’s not like that was the first time you’ve had a last minute booking, right?” Shuichi noted.   
  
“Yep, I have to do them all the time. But anyway, the organiser was so happy that I helped him out, so he asked me something.”   
  
“Is this why you asked as about how busy we were?” Maki asked. Kaede nodded.   
  
“He gave me these.” Kaede reached into her backpack, and withdrew four strips of paper. Four strips of paper that looked _very_ similar to plane tickets.   
  
“Are those… plane tickets?” Kaito asked, eyes widening. Kaede grinned, nodding at her friend. All three of them, notably Kaito and Shuichi, lent forward, their eyes sparkling slightly with what seemed to be happening.   
  
“He asked me if I was willing to do a series of international concerts in Australia, with travel and lodging all paid for, of course.” She tapped her hands on the bed, somewhat giddy. “I’d have to do four concerts over two weeks, in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane, but otherwise I’d be able to have essentially a two week holiday in Australia.”   
  
“But that doesn’t explain why you have _four_ plane tickets.” Maki asked, looking at the tickets with a weird expression on her face.   
  
“Well, at first I was going to be just me going, but then I mentioned to the organiser how excited I was to tell you three about it, that he offered to play for travel and lodging for all three of you as well!” Her three best friends stared at her with slightly open mouths. “So, I guess what I’m trying to ask… do you three want to come to Australia with me?”   
  
For a hot few seconds, everyone was silent in the room, starting with surprise at Kaede’s sudden offer. To everyone’s surprise, including the owner of the voice, it was Maki who replied first.   
  
“...T-That sounds pretty nice, actually.” Maki stroked her hair, looking a little embarrassed about the admission. “Getting out of this shoddy winter to a hot summer could be a big improvement.”   
A big smile spread across Kaede’s face at Maki’s comments. “So you’ll come with?” Maki looked away, flushing red, before nodding.   
  
“Y-Yeah. I-I’d get rusty and weak huddling inside out of the cold all winter, so it’d be nice to get some exercise done while we’re there.” Kaede, without warning, clambered across the bed and wrapped her arm around Maki’s shoulder to half-hug her.   
  
“Ooooh, Maki Roll! Thank you!” Kaede grinned from ear to ear as Maki tried to scurry away from her grasp. “This is gonna be the best vacation ever!”   
  
“K-Kaede! Don’t call me M-maki roll.” She always said that, and yet she usually never really cared when Kaede actually did call her that.   
  
“Hey!” Kaito half yelled, making Kaede look away look enough for Maki to retreat to the corner of the bed in embarrassment. “I’m coming too!”   
  
“You sure it won’t interfere with any of your obligations to NASA?” Kaede asked Kaito, who nodded thoughtfully.   
  
“It’ll be fine!” Kaito waved her off. “They aren’t gonna want much from until I’m outta school, so I’m aaaaalll free this holiday!” Kaede smiled, nodding at his confirmation, which left…   
  
“S-So, we’d be catching a plane to Australia, right?” Shuichi asked, tapping his fingers on his legs with a nervous look on his eyes. Kaede nooded.   
  
“Well, we definitely are not taking a boat!” Kaede laughed, assuming Shuichi was joking.   
  
“O-Oh, of course.” He laughed nervously. “It’s just… well, I get a little… nervous, involving planes. I’ve only been on them a few times, but every time I just get…” He shrugged, not sure how to convey how he felt about his fear of flying. Kaito clasped him on the shoulder, grinning.   
  
“Don’t sweat it, sidekick! You’ve got nothing to worry about on that plane!” Shuichi tried to pump himself up, but even Kaito’s words of encouragement didn’t do enough.   
  
“I know it’s silly, but I just…”   
  
“You don’t have to force yourself for my sake, Shuichi.” Kaede smiled, not wanting to push her friend into a bad situation. “We’d miss having you around, though.”   
  
“Yeah, I’m willing to bet Kaito wouldn’t stop complaining if his ‘sidekick’ wasn’t around.” Maki scratched the back of her head awkwardly. “A-And, I guess I’d miss you being around, too.” Shuichi nodded, gripping the sheets of the bed, trying to make a decision.   
  
“I ain’t gonna force you, Shuichi.” Kaito said, gripping his shoulder a little more tightly. Shuichi felt his heart rate quicken at his friend’s proximity. “But you won’t have to worry about a thing - you’ll have us by your side, and I’ll be willing to listen if you need to panic or anything.” That smile that came so naturally when looking at Kaito’s unrelenting optimism spread across Shuichi’s face was evidence enough that he was willing to try for his friends.   
  
“O-Ok. I’ll do it.” Kaede threw her hands in the air in celebration, elated that all three of her closest friends were coming on the trip. Though, quickly her face turned to panic and stress as he realised she’d forgotten something.   
  
“Now, there was one other thing I really should’ve mentioned first…” She laughed to herself, running a hand through her hair.

* * *

 

In the end, it turned out they only had _two_ days to get ready for the trip, due to the somewhat late notice from the concert organiser. Kaito had been fine with the short timeframe, saying he could throw together two weeks worth of clothes and resources in a heartbeat - which was more worrying than anything else, actually. After Kaede had finished giving them the finer details of the trip, Maki had told the other two that she’d stay behind at help Kaito _actually_ pack, as none of them had confidence in him to actually do it.   
  
“I’ll speak to you two tomorrow about how we’ll get over to the airport, okay?” Kaede told Maki and Kaito at the door of his room. The two teenagers nodded, Kaito looking not so thrilled about the prospect of packing.   
“Do I really need to pack now? We’re not leaving tomorrow!” Maki shook her head, looking like she was taking care of one of the children at her old orphanage.   
  
“And if you live it ‘till then, you won’t have your packing done until _after_ we’ve had to leave, so come on.” She glanced at Kaede as she turned to help Kaito, that little smile that so rarely came out flashing. “Good night, then, Kaede. Shuichi.” And she shut the door, leaving them alone outside.   
  
“Wanna walk back to my room for a bit? It’s still pretty early.” Kaede asked Shuichi. Her friend nodded, shivering slightly in the cold dorm hallway.   
  
“Gladly. Heating died in my room a few days ago, so I’d rather not freeze, thanks.” Kaede giggled to herself as the two friends headed towards the girls dorm.   
  
“...Pretty exciting, huh? Getting to go on a holiday with _them_ .” Kaede murmured, her face going pink. Shuichi nodded, grinning to himself as they walked.   
  
“Y-Yeah. ‘Was probably the first thing you thought of, when you got the offer, right?” Shuichi replied, Kaede giggling to herself.   
  
“I guess it was pretty obvious. I mean, getting to have a holiday at a summer location, with _Maki_ of all people!” Kaede literally had a skip in her step as she talked.   
  
“And for m-me, at least, it’ll be great to finally spend some time with Kaito away from Hope’s Peak.” Kaede cheekily smiled at her friend, making him give her a strange look. “What?”   
  
“Maybe you’ll finally get the nerve to confess to him~” Kaede teased, skipping ahead of the red-faced detective. Shuichi simply stuttered, following after his friend.   
  
“S-Says you! Maybe you’ll finally stop ‘flirting’ and grow a little closer to your ‘Maki Roll’.” Now it was Kaede’s turn to grow all embarrassed and sputtery as Shuichi grinned at her. “Imagine it, the two of you, stretched out on the beaches of Australia, dressed in little more than a swimsuit, all alone and…” Kaede had gone completely scarlet with the mental image Shuichi had assembled, causing her to pout in his direction.   
  
It was a little ironic, actually. Much of the class for months were _convinced_ that Shuichi and Kaede were dating in secret, but that couldn’t be more wrong. They were simply the absolute best of friends, the people who could tell each other their worries and support each other in times of need. At one point, they _had_ , actually, considered the point that they were meant for each other, but both realised they relied on each other as support as friends, and nothing more. So when they both discovered the two of them were harboring deep feelings for two of their mutual best friends, they essentially turned into wingmen for each other. Of course, along with all their positive advice for each other, they had moments of banter like this.   
  
“Though, to be serious for a sec.” Shuichi continued, patting Kaede on the back (which only made her out more), as they grew closer to her room. “We don’t know that Maki and Kaito like you and me, right?” Kaede nodded, following his chain of thought. “At the very least, I think this trip will let us confirm -at the very least- if they share our feeling at all.” He frowned as he reached this conclusion - a sentiment shared by Kaede.   
  
“It’s a little scary, y’know?” Kaede murmured, making Shuichi look back. “I mean, y-you know how I feel about Maki, the idea of telling her how I feel and her not feeling the same… it’s frightening to take that step.” Shuichi nodded, understandingly.   
  
“Well, one way or another… I think things will be different” Kaede nodded, somewhat hesitant, as they came to the door of her dorm room.   
  
“Hey, Shuichi?” Kaede said, suddenly a little more positive. Her friend looked up, surprised at her change of tone.   
  
“Y-Yeah?”   
  
“Do you want to stay over tonight? I’ve got some spare blankets, and you can crash on the couch - it’s probably better than being in that room without heating…” Shuichi grinned - it had been a while since they’d had one of their late nights together.   
  
“Movie night?” Shuichi asked.   
  
“Movie night.” Kaede grinned, unlocking the door to her room.   
  
The two teenagers were up long into the night, watching some cheesy movie about the japanese yakuza, talking about Kaede’s concerts and what they were going to do about their growing attraction to their best friends.

* * *

 

The next day went in a whirlwind of preparation and goodbyes. Shuichi caught up with Tsumugi and Gonta, spending a few hours with them before his trip. Kaito had to spend most of his day packing, as even getting a headstart with Maki’s help didn’t work out as well as they’d expected. Maki was coerced into shopping with Tenko and Himiko, to pick up a couple of summer-appropriate outfits for her trip. Kaede also spent a little bit of time with Miu and Rantaro, the former raging that _she’d_ be better to go with to Australia (“So all of those virgins on the beach can admire my fucking bombshell of a body!”), the latter giving her a list of locations the group should visit if they got the chance. And, as the sun began to set again on Hope’s Peak, the four friends got together again in Kaede’s room, their suitcases all packed. They had to arrive at the airport at 4am for a variety of reasons, so they’d decided they would sleep on the plane and just hang out until the time to leave had come around - Kaede had had someone organised to pick the four of them up to take them to the airport at 1am.   
  
Kaede and Kaito were in a heated discussion about the pros and cons of a film about astronomy, Shuichi reading a book and Maki checking over everyone’s bags (mostly Kaito’s in case he forgot something), when the clock struck 1am. Kaede stood up, yawning gently as she stretched her arms.   
  
“All right. It’s time to go.” Maki nodded, getting to her feet.   
  
“Everything seems to be in order, even Kaito.” She glared a little at her friend, causing Kaito to wave his hands in confusion.   
  
“What’s that for? I made sure to pack _everything_ we needed.” Maki shook her head, picking up her suitcase.   
  
“ _Only after_  I helped you repack everything.”   
  
“Hey! You didn’t need to say that, Maki Roll!”   
  
“Come on, we shouldn't leave the driver waiting.” Shuichi muttered as her wrapped his neck and lower face in a black scarf. Everyone was dressed in thick coats and scarves that hopefully will be discarded long before they reach Australia. Heading out of the dorms as quietly as they could, as nearly everyone was sleeping at the moment. Just as Kaede said, a silent car sat waiting for them just outside the gates of Hope’s Peak, it’s owner nodding towards Kaede.   
  
“Are we gonna even be able to fit all the bags in the car?” Kaito asked, frowning at the car.   
  
“We’ll manage, one way or another.” Kaede replied, piling two of the their suitcases in the trunk.   


They fit. Painfully.

* * *

 

“I can’t feel my legs.” Shuichi groaned as he clambered through the airport terminal, Kaito groaning in agreement. After squeezing into the car, which required Kaito and Shuichi’s bags being on top of them, they’d made it to the airport, where they had to all stand in line for nearly an hour to get through to their actual terminal. But finally, after hours of waiting and being crushed by their own luggage, the four of them were almost ready to board the plane to their vacation.  
  
“I almost forgot to ask.” Maki said, collapsing into a vacant chair, Kaede joining her next to her. “Considering how important it is. Where are we landing?” Kaede stifled a yawn as she answered. Kaito and Shuichi had left their bags with them to go find some early morning breakfast for the four of them.   
  
“Melbourne, first. Then it’s up to Sydney, after that is Brisbane, and then back to Adelaide.” Kaede grinned, obviously excited to perform a string of concerts again.   
  
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you in concert. Too long.” Maki smiled a little bit, remembering the last time she’d seen Kaede perform. Kaede looked away, blushing at Maki’s words. “I made sure to pack my nice dress for the concert nights. Hopefully the idiots remembered to pack something nice to wear.” Kaede looked back at Maki, who was staring across the terminal where Shuichi and Kaito were buying hash browns for the four of them, smiling as if Kaede couldn’t see it. When she started spending time with Maki, she almost never smiled, and rarely interacted with anyone who wasn’t Kaito or Shuichi. But now, almost a year since they’d met, she’d still seem cold to anyone who didn't know her. But Kaede knew - she knew how much Maki cared about her friends - just like how much she had pestered Kaito to pack properly, to remember his passport and everything else - it was all to make sure he had just as nice a trip as the rest of them.   
  
It had been her beauty that had first drawn Kaede to Maki, but it was that inherent kindness, always there inside her from her days at the orphanage, that made her fall for her. It didn’t always show, but everything Maki did for her closest friends, we motivated by a deep feeling of care.   
  
“Hey, we got grub!” Kaito announced, returning with the food. Shuichi was already tearing into one of the hash browns, as if it was the first thing he eaten in day. Kaede thanked the two of them as she took one, nibbling at it as she watched Maki. This was going to be a wonderful vacation, Kaede thought, not just because she was playing her life’s work in a wonderful place, but she got to share her gift with her closest friends, and the girl she was head over heels in love with.   
  
“These aren’t bad.” Maki murmured, eating her food. “Better than the petrol station food you got for us in July.” Shuichi choked a little as he laughed about that event.   
  
“Hey, we hadn’t eaten in nearly a day, and that hot dog looked amazing!” Kaito grinned, as if he’d forgotten what had happened _after_ they’d eaten the hot dogs.   
  
“We were sick for days!” Kaede giggled, remembering just how sick they had gotten.   
  
“Yeah, but the hot dogs were great, weren't they?” Kaito pushed the point. Maki frowned.   
  
“Well, I guess, but-” Kaito’s eyes widened, as it looked like he was going to win this point against Maki, before…

The announcement for their plane boarding had gone out, and the four teenagers had no time for anything but to rush over to their flight.

 

* * *

 

“Mrgrgh.” Kaede grunted as the plane finally began to move. If only she was sitting with Maki. They’d just passed out the tickets randomly, and by luck with was the two of them who got seats at the back of the plane. Her headache was getting worse - it’d be fine once they levelled out in the sky, but the first twenty minutes of flights were always hell on her mind. And it didn’t help that her best friend was doing his best to hold back a panic attack as his fear of flying started up. She gripped his hand supportively, despite her headache.  
  
“Just relax, Shuichi. I didn’t like flying at first, but I just found something to think of to block it out.” Shuichi looked over at her, gritting his teeth as he did so.   
  
“W-What do you think about?” Kaede shrugged.   
  
“It changes. I used to just think of various piano pieces, but in recent days I think of ways I want to improve myself, or people I want to impress, and it makes it seem sort of… silly, in comparison.”   
  
“I-I see.” Shuichi looked forward again, closing his eyes as the plane picked up velocity. Trying to think about things to take his mind off it, he thought of the one thing that occupied his mind at most time these days.   
  
_Kaito._ He thought of the fact that every time, inevitably, when Kaito one day goes up to space, he’d have to endure the crippling feelings of escaping the earth’s gravity. Every time, at least until the develop new technology. And if Kaito is brave enough, and powerful enough to endure that, Shuichi was strong enough to deal with his fear of flying. He let go of Kaede’s hand, and breathed in, and out. His friend smiled at him, glad her words had helped, even a little bit.   
  
-

 

“Ooooh.” Kaito wheezed, tapping his fingers on his arm rest. Maki’s dark-ringed eyes were still locked on her book, even as her friend rocked back and forth.  
  
“Are you seriously getting air-sick?”   
  
“Oof.” Kaito made a weird noise, which seemed to confirm Maki’s concerns. “I-I’ll be fine in a few minutes, it’s always the start of the flight that gets me.”   
  
“How the hell are you going to be an astronaut if you get airsick?” Maki shook her head, trying not to laugh at him even with how ridiculous the idea was.”   
  
“W-When I’m all strapped down…” Kaito heaved, finally seeming to get a little bit of control over his body. “It’s fine. I’m just going up. But now…” He made another odd noise, making Maki try and inch as far away from him as he could.   
  
“If you’re going to throw up, do it in the bag - I don’t want to get vomit all over my dress.” Kaito grinned at her, straightening up.   
  
“Yeah, wouldn’t want Kaede to see you like that, _Maki Roll_ .” Maki face reddened, her head peeking out into the aisle to confirm that Kaede and Shuichi were easily out of earshot.   
  
“S-Shut up.” She didn’t even tell him off for calling her Maki Roll.   
  
“So, you gonna tell her?” Kaito asked, closing his eyes as he relaxed back into his chair. “I mean, you’ve gonna be sharing a room in all the cities, shopping together, heading to the beach…” He yawned loudly, the lack of sleep finally catching up to him. Maki gripped one of her locks of hair, frowning as a mix of emotions bubbled up inside her. “You packed your good dress, for the concerts?”   
  
“Y-Yeah.” Maki replied.   
  
“Tenko and Himiko took you out to get some nice outfits and a swimsuit for the beach, didn’t they, yesterday?” Maki nodded again. They may bicker a lot, but Maki had a lot of trust in Kaito to give her advice on matters such as this.

 Considering what she had got through, and what she’d gotten away from with coming to Hope’s Peak, she barely knew how to act around her friends at all.  
  
“Listen, Maki Roll.” Kaito rolled over in his chair to face her, on the edge of sleep. “We dunno how Kaede feels about you. We know she cares about you as a friend, that’s obvious.” He yawned again, but Maki was hanging on to his every word. “Stick to being yourself, the indomitable Maki Roll that I’ve come to known and I’ve got a feeling you’ll know by the end of this vacation.”   
  
“R-Really?” Maki stuttered. “Even after everything I did…?” Kaito grinned at her.   
“That’s who you were. You were Maki. Now you’re the new and improved Maki Roll!” As much as she tried, she couldn’t frown at his unrelenting optimism.   
  
Especially since he’d flat out fallen asleep.   
  
And she wasn’t far off, either. She was excited to support Kaede at her concerts, and at this vacation, as a friend, but she couldn’t reject the feelings that had been blooming in her heart for months now. She had two long weeks ahead of her with her two best friends, and the girl she’d fallen head over heels for. The feelings that her performances invoked in her heart, and the caring, loving personality that Maki wished she had… she wished to share this all with Kaede, to tell her how she felt, even if Maki herself didn’t really understand them herself.   
  
She closed her book, marking her page before placing back in her carry on bag. Sleep was taking hold, and in half in day she’d be in beautiful Australia, alongside her best friends in the world, with her last and most important mission to carry out. Sleep took hold, and Maki fell into slumber, a warm smile etched on her face.


	2. Night Lights, Dazzling City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The squad arrives in Melbourne, and mess around before their vacation really begins.

As they arrived at Melbourne Airport, around 3 in the afternoon, the four teenagers felt a special sense of elation - they didn’t even notice the numerous odd looks that were thrown their way, due to their wintery sense of dress. For, alas, due to the combined factors of jet-lagged and coming from an artic-level winter, they hadn’t even considered they were arriving in the middle of a blazing summer.  
  
“How’d you guys sleep on the plane?” Kaito asked Kaede and Shuichi, yawning as he did so.  
  
“I dunno when I fell asleep, but Shuichi nodded off as soon as the plane levelled out.” She patted her fatigued friend on the back. “You did good.” Shuichi awkwardly smiled and looked at the floor as they walked towards the main entrance.  
  
“The idiot fell asleep mid conversation.” Maki grumbled, the only one of the four who didn’t seem to be exhausted from the plane.  
  
“I know it was important, but I was tired, man! We didn’t get on the plane ‘till the morning!” Kaede leaned in between the two friends, grinning.  
“What was so important…?” Kaito just laughed in Maki’s direction, the dark-haired girl just looking away in a huff. As they neared the exit to where their taxi awaited, Shuichi seemed to have a special bounce in his step.  
  
“What’s got your going, man?” Kaito asked, smiling at his friend. Shuichi again grinned nervously, scratching his hair.  
  
“It’s just… being in the cold all the time makes me feel real down, so…” He looked out the doors as they automatically open, the sun shining on his face. “Being back to summer makes me feel so… so…” The vacationers stepped outside, and they were greeted with the summer they had been anticipating so greatly.  
  
If it had been around… twice as hot.  
  
“...Hot!”  
  
“I mean, you’re a good looking dude, Shuichi, but I don’t see how the change of weather would make you…” Kaito trailed off as he almost immediately began to flop sweat as the 39 degree heat began to bear down on them.  
  
“Eurghghghghgh.” Kaede groaned, immediately tearing off her thick jacket. Again, Maki seemed to be the only not really affected by the heat, but even she was sweating - she was just literally gritting her teeth not to be broken down by the unrelenting sun.  
  
“Where’s the damn taxi?” Shuichi groaned, too weighed down by his bag to pull off his sweater. Kaede scanned the area, glancing at her phone to work out which of the dozens of taxis were waiting.  
  
“Who’s getting buried under luggage this time?” Shuichi said dryly, before realising what he was saying. “Not it!”  
  
“Not it!” Kaito immediately followed.  
  
“Not it!” Kaede snapped, still scanning for the taxi. Maki just glared at Shuichi, sighing.  
  
“You two are too scrawny to get covered in luggage again, so it’s fine.” Maki pouted, seemingly _not fine_ with it.  
  
“Why don’t you _and_ Kaede be under the luggage, and me and Kaito get to stretch our legs?” Shuichi murmured, trying to be the most. Which simply just earned him her trademark glare.  
  
“I don’t want to put Kaede in a position to get injured by luggage. You know she needs to be in good shape for her piano concerts, so she needs to be thought of first.” And with that, Maki strolled of with her bag, looking for their taxi. Shuichi just stared at Kaede, a little grin on his face as he saw his best friend go the colour of lava.

 

* * *

 

“There should be a booking for two rooms, should be under ‘Kaede Akamatsu?” Kaede said to the hotel receptionist, as her three friends collapsed into chairs nearby. Shuichi and Kaito’s eyes were wide as they scanned the hotel, which judging by the interior was one of the more high-class establishments in Melbourne. Maki just shook her head as she closed her eyes to rest for a few moments.  
  
“Gee, ‘gotta wonder how loaded this guy was to set all four of us up in here.” Kaito whispered to Shuichi, as if he was too scared to disturb the lobby with his voice.  
  
“Wouldn’t you have have been in a nice place before, since you’ve trained with NASA before?” Shuichi whispered back, also seemingly not wanting to disturb the decor.  
  
“Yeah, but that’s NASA, man! They throw stuff out into space! This is just some music snob!” Kaito just laughed without concern, Shuichi shaking his head at the dumb comment.  
  
“That ‘music snob’ is why you’re staying at a nice place.” Kaede grumbled behind Kaito, making him tense up with a guilty look on his face. Pouting, Kaede shook her head. “And he isn’t a snob, he has a great appreciation for music, and hooked me up with so many wonderful concert opportunities.”  
  
“S-Sorry, Kaede.” Kaito scratched his head, nodding. “I love listening to you play, but I guess I just can’t appreciate music that well!” And then he was off laughing again, making Shuichi just shake his head in futility.  
  
“You gotta listen to the stuff I lent you, Kaito.” Shuichi said to his friend as they gathered their things again. “It took me a bit, but Kaede got me into this stuff, but you haven’t even tried.”  
  
“I’m busy, ok?” Kaito laughed again. “I was going to listen to it last week, but then they had Interstellar on TV, so I _had_ to watch that, and…” As Shuichi and Kaito now chattered about sci-fi movies, Kaede turned towards Maki, who hadn’t moved.  
  
“Hey, Maki~”. Kaede murmured. Leaning in, Kaede realised the quiet teenager was fast asleep, her mouth open just a little bit, resting her head on the arm of the chair. Kaito and Shuichi had already moved out towards the elevators, so Kaede hunched down and whispered. “Hey, Maki? We’re heading up to the rooms now.” Maki stirred slightly, her eyes opening.  
  
“Hm…? O-Oh.” Maki slowly got to her feet, gripping her bag tightly. “Sorry.” She muttered awkwardly, trying to not to look at Kaede. She was clearly embarrassed with falling asleep in such a public setting, and she quickly wandered over to the elevator, Kaede following, picking up the other bag Maki had left behind. The young pianist frowned. Ever since they’d arrived, Maki seemed on edge; something was worrying her, but they’d have to talk about that later. 

“I think I need another nap.” Kaito yawned as Shuichi entered their room. Kaede nodded, understanding.  
  
“Well, do we wanna just rest for a few hours?” Kaede asked. “We can go out for dinner, around 7? So we can have three hours rest before then.” Kaito weakly nodded, patting Kaede on the shoulder as thanks. Despite some of them getting decent sleep , the jetlag had not been kind to the four of them.  
  
“I’m gonna use the shower first, Kaito.” Shuichi mumbled from inside, Kaito waving inside to reply.  
  
“I’ll catch you and Maki-roll in a few hours, rest well Kaede.” And with that, Kaito took the key and disappeared in his and Shuichi’s room. Kaede walked across the hall to her and Maki’s room, who had already taken the key to head inside. Maneuvering the bags inside, Kaede yawned and stretched out. The room was lovely, top class; two huge beds, a wonderful bathroom with a big bath/shower. A big widescreen TV sat opposite the beds, several cabinets lining the walls. The first thing that caught Kaede’s eye, however, was Maki’s form, splayed out on her back on the bed, snoring softly. Her red sweater and blue button-up shirt had been thrown off onto the ground, leaving her in her black pants and matching tank top. But what surprised Kaede the most, as much as her form made her heart beat madly, was how vulnerable Maki looked; it looked she had barely slept on the plane, her snores now softly beginning to fill the room. She was gripping the pillow tightly with both hands, her hair spilling over her face.

  
“ _Sleep well, Maki._ ” Kaede whispered, the dark-haired beauty simply stretching out in her sleep. Pulling off her own sweater, and undoing the top button of her red shirt, Kaede flopped down on her own bed, facing Maki’s prone form. Closing her eyes, Kaede imagined everything that _could be_ if she was just brave and confident enough - maybe they wouldn’t need two beds; maybe the the sleeping girl across from Kaede could be gripping _her_ as she slept. Kaede frowned, running a hand through her hair, as Maki turned over in her sleep. The young pianist grit her teeth, staring at her point of attraction. “I want to tell you, so badly.” Kaede whispered to the sleeping girl, courage only coming to her when she didn’t need it. “I want to let you know how I feel.” Turning over herself, Kaede gripped the sheets, still smiling despite her frustrations. She had two weeks with this girl, performing the craft she loved, and spending time with the people she held dear. At the very least, she could show off to Maki.

* * *

 

“Ohhhh, I feeeeel sooooo much betteeeeer.” Kaede sighed as she collapsed into the chair behind the table. After sleeping a little too long, the four of them had reconvened and took to the streets to find a place to eat for their first night in Melbourne. Dressed in much more summer-relevant clothes, the teenagers were feeling much better then when they arrived wearing three or more layers of clothing. After much wandering of the main streets of the city, they’d all settled on an Italian restaurant called Florentino. Shuichi dryly commented that despite having such a wide range of wonderful food to eat, all they felt like eating was pizza.  
  
“Summer is actually pretty good when you’re not wearing a jacket and a sweater” Shuichi mumbled as he sat down next to Kaito, still noticeably sweating from the heat.  
  
“You okay, man?” Kaito asked, frowning, as he patted Shuichi on the back. “You need some water?” Even before Shuichi could answer, Kaito flagged down a waiter, getting some iced water for his buddy. Kaede giggled a little bit as Shuichi got flustered, trying to ensure Kaito he was fine.  
  
“It’s good you look after your ‘sidekick’, Kaito.” Kaede smiled, drumming her hands over the menu as the waiter returned with a pitcher of iced water.  
  
“Of course!” Kaito grinned, patting Shuichi on his back (as he was drinking the water). “A hero like me is nothing without someone like Shuichi!”.  
  
“I don’t know how you put up with him, Shuichi.” Maki grumbled, flipping through the menu. “I know I sure can’t.” Kaede laughed at her grouchiness, making Maki glare back. “What?”  
  
“You need to relax, Maki.” Kaede smiled, patting her on the arm, making sure the boys were distracted with some idiocy. “You’re on holiday, so you don’t need to be on edge all the time.” Maki looked embarrassed, though not drawing away from Kaede’s touch as quickly as she usually did. But then she did, and she continued to flick through the menu, red-faced. Kaede just grinned at her close friend, bobbing back and forth, which just served to fluster Maki further. Eventually, the four of them ordered their food, two half-and-half pizzas being brought to them soon after.  
  
“Sickening.” Shuichi frowned at Kaede’s food, which was _covered_ in pineapple. “And you say you have taste.”  
  
“Says the guy with mushrooms. How can you sleep at night!?” Kaede snapped back, munching on her pizza with an exaggeratedly pleased look on her face. Maki just looked up from her own., staring at Kaito’s, before she shook her head in displeasure.  
“You guys are complaining about each other, but you didn’t even notice Kaito’s crime against nature.” She said dryly, smirking as she ate in to her own. Pineapple, mushroom, capsicum, olives - all that and more. And the most hideous part of this _thing_ was the fact that Kaito was enjoying it.  
  
“What?” He stared, half a slice still in his hands. “Life isn’t fun if you don’t try a bit of everything!” And then he shoved the half-slice in his mouth, smiling immensely, making Kaede and Maki shake their heads in mixed disgust.  
  
“...Could I trade a slice of mine for yours?” Shuichi muttered, holding out the slice for Kaito. “If it’s that good… I should at least try it?” Kaede put a hand across her mouth in mock surprise.  
  
“Is this a miracle? Shuichi ‘Scared of change’ Saihara trying something so horrific?” Shuichi just scowled at his best friend, Kaito grinning appreciably at his enthusiasm.  
  
“Discovering something everyday is the best way to live your life!” Kaito grinned, patting Shuichi on the back. “That’s why we’re here, after all!” Maki shook her head at his motivational speaking. Shuichi took the slice and put it in his mouth. All three of the teenagers lent in as he munched on the piece, and then his face went red as the cocktail of tastes hit him all at once.  
  
“I-I’m fine.” Shuichi spluttered, and then he felt the pizza start to come back up, Kade beginning to roar with laughter.  
  
As Kaito tried to get more water down Shuichi’s burning throat, Kaede swore she hadn’t seen Maki laugh so hard in a long time.

* * *

   
It wasn’t until nearly 1am that the four of them stumbled back to the hotel, exhausted yet full of some unholy energy. They’d wandered the town, accidentally, losing Kaito on the tram network. They’d stopped for a bit of food, and wandered around the centre of Melbourne once they found Kaito. Kaede had brought her camera along, thankfully, and the four of them (some less willingly than others) got a photo together in front of Flinders Street Station, the massive, main train station of Melbourne. Before heading back to the hotel, the four of them rested at the centre of the city, Federation Square, looking up at the great skyscrapers and the lights of the lively, unsleeping city.

“aaaaaaaaaaaaaH.” Kaito gave a big, loud yawn which sounded more like a wild yell than anything. “I’m beat, guys. We should’ve turned in earlier then 1am.” And then he started to laugh from sleep-deprivation, making the two girls flash glares at the _reason_ for them being all so tired.

“I-I’ll take care of him.” Shuichi stuttered, patting his friend on the back as he continued to chuckle as they reached their rooms.  
  
“You should lash him to the bed, so he doesn’t sleepwalk off into traffic or something.” Maki muttered. “Night.” She waved, heading into her room, as Shuichi turned right red.  
  
“Oh, I’m _sure_ Kaito isn’t into that.” Kaede said smugly, also waving the boys goodnight.  
  
“It’s okay, Shuichi!” Kaito laughed, patting him on the shoulder. “I _do_ sleepwalk sometimes, so I understand if you need to employ drastic measures!”  
  
Inside Kaede and Maki’s room, Maki emerged from the bathroom, changing out of her red dress to just a black shirt and shorts to sleep in, flopping on to her bed to stretch out.  
  
“Damn it, Kaito.” Maki yawned. “Of course we’re here for half a day and we’ve already lost him in a foreign city.” Kaede laughed as she collapsed on to her bed, going through her bag to confirm everything was still there.  
  
“It was fun, though. Just the four of us, not really doing anything, exploring together.” Kaede smiled at Maki as she laid on her side, making the dark haired student turn red and avert her gaze.  
  
“I-I guess.” Maki muttered, tapping her fingers on the mattress. “Do you need to practice at all before the performance in two days?” Flicking through her camera, Kaede shrugged.  
  
“Not really. I’ll probably head into the place in the morning to practice and set up, but other then that I should be good.”  
  
“I see.” Maki wiggled back and forth on her bed, seemingly contemplating something.   
  
"What is it?"   
  
"N-Nothing. I'll talk about it later." Kaede frowned - she wasn't going to force anything out of Maki, but she couldn't help be curious about what she was thinking.  
  
Her mood shifted as she found the photo of the four of them in front of Flinders Street Station. Of course, everyone but Maki was smiling. Normally, that would’ve bothered Kaede, and she’d have pressed Maki for a better photo to mark their first night in Australia. That is, if she hadn’t gotten the candid shot she’d taken whilst at Federation Square. Whilst the boys had stopped at a convenience store, Kaede had wandered over to a water fountain. As she approached Maki, she’d stopped and taken the shot - in a moment of solitude, Maki was looking up into the lights and glamour of the city, her eyes lit up with a mixture of emotions, both seemingly happy and sad, calm and anxious. The look on her face had made Kaede wonder what was happening in Maki’s head, but most of all she never wanted to forget that image of Maki in front of her - so she snapped the photograph of the girl she loved in the middle of Melbourne.  
  
“...What are you smirking about, Kaede?” Maki grumbled, already looking drowsy. Kaede smiled cheekily and shut off her camera, rolling over to face her friend.  
“Nothing.” Maki wasn’t convinced, but she didn’t pursue the matter. Kaede smiled warmly, her arm hanging over the edge of the bed. “Is there anything you wanted to do tomorrow, Maki?” Her friend just shrugged, but Kaede wasn’t going to let her off that easy. “Come on, there has to be something. I know Kaito and Shuichi said they were going to visit that huge skyscraper tomorrow, but we could do something together.” _That_ got a reaction out of her. Maki just pouted, but she was clearly starting to think seriously.

  
“I know it’s kind of boring… but we could go to that really big library we passed when we were looking for Kaito. And I was reading about some stores in Melbourne I’d be interested in going to…” Maki seemed embarrassed about her decision, but seem to get kind of mad when Kaede started to giggle. “W-What? Do you want to-?”  
  
“No, no. I’d love that, Maki.” Kaede grinned at her the pouting former assassin. “It’s just funny to be doing something so normal, when compared to how crazy everything at home is.” Maki, whilst still glaring, simmered down and nestled further into her bed. Rolling on to her bed, Kaede didn’t even bother to get changed out of her dress before sleeping. Yawning loudly, she waved vaguely in Maki’s direction. “We should probably sleep, it’s probably getting on to 2am.”  
  
“Hm.” Maki made an odd noise. Kaede glanced to the side, and found Maki smiling at her, looking like it was Christmas (even though Christmas was actually next week).  
  
“Maki?” Kaede said, feeling herself growing flustered. “W-What is it?” Just that smile was enough to melt her; she really was hopeless, wasn’t she?  
  
“Thank you, Kaede.” Maki seemed to vaguely reach out towards Kaede, as the pianist's heart went nuts, before retracting it back to her bed. “T-Thank you for bringing me on this trip.” And then she rolled over and went silent.

  
Kaede didn’t reply, switching off the light as she got back into bed, simply stewing in her own thoughts in the darkness. It’d had only been one day, after all. She had been building courage towards what she wanted to say to Maki, but it was a matter of knowing the _when and where_ of telling her. _“And I don’t think a library is a very romantic place to confess one’s love.”_ She stifled a giggle and that thought, and thought back to that photo she had taken of Maki - she’d known her for two years, but she knew so little about her. That expression on her face had spoken volumes of things Kaede had no idea about… and she wanted to try and learn a bit about the dark-haired beauty sleeping a metre away.  
“ _Thank you for coming with me to this wonderful place, Maki._ ”. And then she was asleep, dreaming of the two wonderful weeks ahead of her in this foreign land.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, the squad splits up to pursue their own interests in the city!
> 
> Thanks for reading, and thanks for any and all kudos and comments!


	3. Delights of Melbourne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the first full day, the squad mess around in the pool and split up for their own excursions.

Maki yawned and stretched out on the bed as she slipped out of the dreamscape. For once, her night had been marred by her memories of her days prior to Hope’s Peak. That was good. She didn’t want to have those dreams lingering at the edge of her brain when she watched Kaede’s performance that night, so not having one today was a good sign. Sitting up, she noticed she’d slept in to nine, and Kaede had already vacated the room - though she was likely the one who had left the eggs and toast, still hot, on her bedside table. Maki couldn’t help but smile to herself; she half-figured Kaede had gotten food for her before tending to herself. And when Maki went out to the balcony, sitting at the edge, dangling her legs through the bars as she ate her breakfast, she confirmed that feeling. Down, several floors below her, Shuichi was exercising in the pool, going back and forth and back and forth for eternity, whilst Kaede sat at the table nearby, eating her breakfast. And for the next few minutes, Maki just watched. Despite the summer heat, the cool breeze was nice on her body, relaxing her as she silently ate her meal. It gave her time to just soak in the fact that she was in a different part of the world, not for a contract, but just to be with her friends. Resting her chin on one of the bars, Maki smiled to herself. It just… felt nice. Glancing down, she saw Kaede waving to her wildly, shouting something inaudible this far up, though it was obvious she wanted Maki to come down. Her breakfast finished, Maki flashed Kaede a deadpan thumbs-up and retreated to the room, getting out of her pajamas before joining her friends.   
  
Within ten minutes, Maki joined Kaede down at the poolside, now dressed in some brown shorts in a black short-sleeved shirt, sitting barefoot with her feet in the pool to deal with the already building heat.   
  
“Ugh.” Kaede grumbled, wiping a rather large amount of sweat off her forehead. “Forecast said it’s going to be even hotter than yesterday. Good time to go hang out in that library, I guess then?” Maki nodded, her legs going back in forth listlessly.   
  
“Yeah, I suppose. I had a look at some places to go today, so I’ll see what’ll be the best for this weather, at least.” Maki yawned - finally, the fatigue from the flight was getting away from her, but she still that certain brand of jetlag.   
  
“Why don’t you come in here, then…?” Shuichi stopped his exercising for a moment, awkwardly smiling as a head in the pool. Kaede just shrugged and shook her head, despite joining Maki at the pool’s edge.    
  
“If I’d worn my swimsuit, I would, but I really was just going to eat breakfast here to relax for just a little bit. Maybe tomorrow morning?” Maki tried not to shudder as Kaede lazily lent against Maki, but she didn’t seemed to notice. Shuichi seemed disappointed, but he turned to look at Maki.    
“What about you, Maki?” Maki had to admit to herself, she wouldn’t mind taking a dip in the pool, but like Kaede, she hadn’t dressed for it. And plus, it felt pretty nice having Kaede against her right now.   
  
“It’s fine, I just wanted to cool down my-” Maki didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence, because just then, a purple blur charged through the gates to the pool, grabbing Maki around the right arm (with a shout of “Go beyond your limits!), pulling the dark haired girl into the pool, bringing the one lent against her flailing in as well. As Maki spluttered to the surface, Kaede not far behind, Kaito was at least smart enough to retreat to the opposite end of the pool, hovering behind Shuichi who was failing to do everything in his power not to laugh hysterically at his friends’ misfortune.   
  
“...” Maki glared daggers laced with poison at the purple menace lurking down the other end of the pool. Slowly, she began to swim terrifyingly slowly towards Kaito, who recoiled.   
  
“N-Now now, Maki-roll, I just wanted to have you join in on the f-fun…” If anything, his playful nickname simply stoked the flames of her anger.   
  
“C-Come on Maki…” Kaede laughed, grabbing her friend around the middle, finally making Maki stop her advance on Kaito - in fact, Maki stopped moving forward all-together, glancing back at Kaede with a red-faced expression, as if she was someone combination of angry, embarrassed and shy. But as she turned to Kaede, her face twisted. Now, Maki had never thought of herself as dirty-minded, but as her face scanned Kaede, who’s white dress had practically melted to her body in the pool, some part of her filed that imagery somewhere in her mind where she wouldn’t forget it. But in the meantime, she glared daggers at Kaito, baring her teeth in some disturbing mix of rage and uncharacteristic playfulness.   
  
“You owe me dinner for that, you jerk.” She grumbled, before shaking off Kaede’s grip and leaping upon the Ultimate Astronaut, half-trying to pull him under the water as rare laughter rang out from her. Kaito didn’t seemed worried at all - in fact, he simply responded in kind. Kaede had no idea how to respond to the scene in front of her, vaguely attempting to bail out Kaito, before  _ she too _ got pulled into the torrent of water and flailing bodies. Shuichi just simply hung back, laughing harder then he’d ever had before as his friends went nuts. In general, other guests of the hotel stayed away from the rather popular pool that morning - the four teenagers were just a little much to bear.   
  
After much chaos in the waters of the hotel, Shuichi and Kaito were the first to call it quits, citing their want to go sightseeing around Melbourne. Waving goodbye to their friends, the two girls floated around the pool, no longer concerned about their clothes. The day was already heating up rapidly, and the water was almost too cool to leave.    
  
“Heeeey, Maaakiii.” Kaede mumbled as she floated on her back. “Can we just speeeend all daaaay in here?” Maki wouldn’t have minded that, but despite only recently waking up, Kaede seemed like she was going to nod off.   
  
“You said we’d be going to that library today, and I don’t want you falling asleep in the pool.” Maki murmured. Kaede just grumbled, akin to a child. “Come on, Kaede.” Maki couldn’t help but smile as she advanced on her friend. “Don’t make me carry you out~”. Kaede made a sputtering sound as she lost balance on the water and flipped over, finally straightning up. Maki couldn’t help but laugh at the sight in front of her.   
  
“L-Let’s get going, then.” Kaede averted her eyes from Maki, pulling up one of the shoulders of her dress that was slipping down her arm. As they clambered after the pool (getting a dirty look from a couple of other visitors as they did so), Kaede walked closely, smiling childishly. “Would you have really carried me back here?” She couldn’t help and glance at Maki’s still dripping arms - and the muscles she thought about a little too often.   
  
Maki just smiled oddly at Kaede, and now she  _ really _ wished she had.   


* * *

  
Melbourne really felt like a different world during the day. When they’d wandered around the previous night, it had been a sea of locals and internationals, all drinking in the night life in the beautifully lit city. At day, the sea of people remained.   
  
“Wow…!” Kaede gasped at the insides of the huge library. The roof of the huge domed central room loomed above them, making Maki feel as if she was going to fall backwards. Back home, what had started as a place to be a recluse, the library had become a second or third home away from home for her - a place she’d hide before she met her dear friends - and so knowing that such a gargantuan library was in Melbourne couldn’t help but attract her. “It feels like you could put a hundred of Hope’s Peak library in here!”   
  
“You could probably do a hundred that with Hope’s Peak’s books, as well.” Maki murmured. “I’d looked it up before we came, but it’s just so much more huge than I figured…” For the next hour, the two girls wandered the various levels of the State Library, looking at the exhibits, some of the resources on display, briefly stopping to look at the small gallery of huge paintings a few floors up.    
  


Kaede slumped on one of the chairs, yawning and stretching gently from being on her feet for the last couple of hours. Maki paced over to a painting nearby, shuffling on the spot a little bit. Was she bored? Or just tired? Had she picked the wrong place to spend the day? Maki tried not to let her anxieties show, but…

As if she sensed her spiralling mind, Kaede got back to her feet and playfully lent againt her friend, smiling.    
  
“Thanks, Maki.” Kaede mumbled, making Maki flush red and look away.   
  
“Uh, what for?” She squeaked.   
  
“For suggesting we come here! I honestly had no idea what I wanted to see in Melbourne, and I think this was a really nice place to go first!” She  _ had _ to be physcic, she just had to be, Maki thought to herself. She always just knew the right thing to say. Her doubts about bringing Kaede to the library vanished from her mind, instead, she was just happy to share her interest with someone who actually cared that much.

 

Maki found what she was looking for, and Kaede was lucky enough to see something she was excited to find. By luck, the Library had a display of rare piano sheet music, and Maki swore she could see Kaede drooling on the other side of the glass. She didn’t understand half of what Kaede said about them, but she couldn’t help but feel giddy that Kaede was so excited about it. All in all, they spent nearly three hours at the library, before stumbling out into the searing heat again. In all honesty, they considered heading back in for just the cool air, but they perservered.

 

The rest of the day was spent a lot more relaxed - they basically just wandered through the inner parts of the city, stopping at any store that caught their fancy. They ate lunch at a tiny chinese store down from a train station, and Kaede briefly stopped at a clothes store to buy a few more summer-oriented dresses. She even managed to convince Maki to let her buy her a white sundress, getting her to  _ promise  _ to wear at least once on their trip - Maki eventually relented. They both bought a variety of little things over the day, just cheap things, and before long they both realised they really should have bought a bag with them.    
  
As they slowly made their way back towards the direction of the hotel, Kaede glanced over at Maki, feeling like the silence was going on a little bit too long.

“Where was the first place you travelled abroad, Maki…?” Kaede realised she was probably going to dredge up bad memories from her time as a killer. Seemingly realising this, Maki waved her off.   
  
“I-I know what you’re thinking.” Maki mumbled. “I-I actually traveled abroad before I became…” she shifted awkwardly. “That. When I was at the orphanage, due to a few circumstances, everyone got to go on a group trip to Italy for a week.”   
  
“What was it like, being there for the first time?” Kaede asked.   
  
“We got off the airport at ten at night.” Maki said wistfully, seeming to be pulled back into her memories. “Wandering through the streets, as a ten-year old, in a place so far away from home… it was so quiet, yet so bustling at the same time. Me and… her, we both were just in awe of where we were.” Maki couldn’t help but smile at the gentle memory. “I’m thankful I never got a contract in Italy. It’s one of those places… I’ll always have happy memories of.” Kaede couldn’t help but grip her own chest. Seeing Maki so unguarded.., she almost seemed like a different person all together.   
  
“Was… ‘her’, your friend? Your best friend from the orphanage?” Kaede asked, quietly. Maki nodded, still in that trance-like state.   
  
“Yeah. We enjoyed Italy so much. The places we visited, playing in the hotel hallways, trying to shrug off the little kids…” Maki laughed a little. “I miss that.” The moment passed, and even Kaede felt a little bit of sadness well up in the stone-faced student.    
  
“Maybe we’ll got to Italy, together, some day... “ Kaede murmured quietly. Maki didn’t quite hear her.   
  
“What, Kaede?” Kaede smiled cheekily at her crush, and shrugged.   
  
“Nothing. Let’s get some grub!” And grabbing Maki’s arm, the pianist pulled her into a nearby desert store, for yet another snack.   
  


* * *

  
  
The four friends met up for dinner at the end of the day once they’d all returned from their respective destinations. At Shuichi’s insistence, they got ‘fish and chips’, which had ben highly recommended to him by someone they had met that day.  Shuichi and Kaito hadn’t really gone anywhere in particular; they’d gotten on a train and relaxed a little too long, ending up far in the suburbs at the end of one of the lines. After getting lunch their, they’d (or rather, Kaito had) chatted with some self-described odd people, they’d wandered around for a bit too long, briefly getting lost in the bush before finding themselves back at the train station.   
  
By comparison, both Kaede and Maki felt that their days had been positively mundane by comparison.    
  
That night, before bed, Maki hung out with Kaito in her room, whilst Kaede sat with Shuichi in his room. Kaede stretched out on Shuichi’s bed, who was flopped on the floor reading some book he had picked up.   
  
“Yup, I think my bed is way more comfortable.” Kaede noted, causing Shuichi make a noise of displeasure. “How was your day with Kaito?”   
  
“It was just like every other day with that nutcase.” Shuichi noted, a tone of affection in his voice. “It was crazy, and exhausting, and some of the most fun I’ve ever had.” Kaede rolled over on to her belly, looking at her best friend.   
  
“Any closer to asking him out.” Her face  _ always _ lit up like that when she talked about him like that. Ironic, considering how reclusive she got when the subject turned to her.   
  
“What do you think, Kaede? Even if I wanted to, he doesn’t slow down enough for me to even get the chance.” Kaede couldn’t help but giggle. Shuichi wasn’t wrong. No one could stop that crazy-haired astronaut.    
  
“How about you, Kaede? How was the trip to the library?” Just as he predicted, Kaede looked away, but at least she answered.   
  
“It was… nice, seeing Maki enjoying herself so naturally. It was fascinating, on a personal level, since I got to look at some piano pieces, but it was just good to do something  _ she  _ wanted.” Kaede smiled to herself, feeling warm despite the air conditioner. “She always left it to me back home. It was… special, this time.” Shuichi smirked at his friend.   
“And how’s  _ your _ progress on getting with Maki-roll?” Kaede laughed nervously. “Especially with how you were looking at her in the pool.” His awkward grin made Kaede reach out and poke Shuichi in the head, pouting as she did so.   
  
“She’s gorgeous, Shuichi. How couldn’t I?” Kaede flipped over again and smiled. Now that morning in the pool was  _ never _ going to leave her brain.   
  
“Considering how she was looking at you, if I didn’t know you two, I thought you were already together, honestly.” Kaede frowned again, waving her hand as if to silence him.   
  
“Don’t be stupid, Shuichi.”   
  
“Well, you can’t really blame her, considering how your clothes, uh… behaved in the pool.” Kaede mock-hit Shuichi, laughing as she did.   
  
“Whadya doin, looking at me like that?” She giggled.   
  
“Well, considering how prominent your…” He waved his arms vaguely. “Chest is, it’s hard not to.” He rolled to the side, avoiding another hit from Kaede, his turn to laugh.   
  
“Spend less time looking at my boobs, and spend more time looking at Kaito’s genius.” Getting up to leave, Kaede waved.   
  
“I do, trust me.” Shuichi said sardonically. “So, quiet day tomorrow?” Kaede nodded as she strode over to the door.   
  
“Yeah, gotta get over to the theatre by about four for rehearsals.” Before leaving she relented and looked back at Shuichi. “Hey… has this been fun, so far?” Shuichi nodded, grinning at his best friend.   
  
“Kaede, as scared as I was to get on the plane- this vacation is like a dream come true.”    
  
There was precisely one thing that could’ve made Kaede happier.   
  


* * *

  
  
The next day was quiet, as Kaede couldn’t do many strenuous activities, so in the morning the girls again watched Shuichi and Kaito in the pool, before getting some lunch at a nearby cafe. They spent a few hours in Kaito and Shuichi’s room, playing some cards, just chatting, and winding down a bit from the fun of the first two days.   
  
“...You guys remembered yours suits, right?” Kaede suddenly asked, as she looked through her bag leisurely.    
“Kaito did.” Maki answered for her best friend. “It was one of the first things I made sure to get in his bag when he packed.” Kaito grumbled but agreed.   
  
“I had to buy a new one, since I thought my ususal one wasn’t really good enough for your performances, but yeah, I did.” Kaede made a fake ‘aww’ noise.   
  
“Someone’s shooting for points.” She giggled. Glancing at the clock, Kaede stretched. “If it’s okay, guys, I think y’all she get changed whilst we still have time.” Maki audibly sighed and agreed, getting off of Kaito’s bed. Kaede frowned - a sudden change in mood had fallen over Maki, but she couldn’t be sure what for.   
  
“I’ll go first, then. See you back in the room, Kaede.” And then she was out. Kaede crossed her arms.   
  
“I’m sure it’s fine, Kaede.” Kaito yawned, getting his suit out of his suitcase. “Whatever she’s worried about, I don’t think you’re to blame.”   
  
“But don’t you think it…” Kaito cut her off immediately.   
  
“If you’re gonna say she doesn’t want to go to your performance, you couldn’t be more wrong.” Kaito grinned and crossed his arms. “She said not to say, but last night during our chat, she mentioned how excited she was to see your performance. In fact, it’s what she was  _ most _ excited to see on this whole trip.” Again, Kaede felt that warmth spread over her whole body, and she felt like she was going to float away from her gidiness. As if to interrupt the mood, Shuichi mumbled something.    
  
“I guess… I’ll go get changed.” 

* * *

  
  
_ “...” _ Maki stared at her reflection in the mirror, looking up and down at her bare body, the dress hanging beside her. Even if she had gotten away from her past, she’s never really escape it’s results. Powerful muscles covered her rather small frame, but that’s not what she was so anxious about. Large, jagged, nasty looking scars adorned her abdomen and ribs, along with another long scar running down much of her back. She  _ hated _ changing in front of the mirror, but the nature of the dress required her to check it was being worn perfectly. Just looking at herself made her feel sick - to the point she avoided showing as little of it as possible; to the point she’d never worn a swimsuit with her friends, or anything that might expose it. Not even Kaito knew about her body, and how it made her feel. She trusted him with anything… just not that.   
  
They knew her past, and emphasised with her, but still, she couldn’t bring herself to show them.   
  
“Maki?” Kaede called out through the door, striking through her stupor. “You almost ready? Shuichi and Kaito are waiting in the hall!” Maki hastily called out in reply.   
  
“I-I-I’ll just be a second!” She could almost hear Kaede’s worry through the door. She really had been in here a long time. Either way, Kaede moved away from the door and Maki quickly got changed into the long red dress, checking herself from every angle. It felt  _ wrong _ to be wearing something like this, considering the circumstances of the other time she’d worn such a dress, but at the same time… it felt good to be dressed up. To look nice in front of her friends, and do something special for the performance she was about to witness.   
  
At least she didn’t have to show her scars, this way.   
  
Maki had at least gotten used to the casual-formal clothes Shuichi wore at Hope’s Peak, so seeing he him in a suit wasn’t too weird to her. But Maki stopped dead in her tracks as she locked her door, as he eyes fell upon an  _ actually groomed Kaito _ , wearing a black shirt with a purple shirt. It was just something that was so  _ wrong _ , despite the fact that he did look pretty good in it. But again, it just looked wrong.   
  
“You look wonderful, Maki.” Kaede glowed, despite just wearing a casual outfit still. “Really.” Maki mumbled some thanks.   
  
“Why aren’t you changed?” She asked Kaede. Kaede began to walk towards the exit to the hotel, the other three following.   
  
“The producers supply my outfits for the performances, so I don’t have to head to the theatre in a full gown or anything extravagant.”    
  
“I wish someone would supply me with outfits.” Shuichi thought, half joking.   
  
“Kirumi probably would if you asked her, honestly.” Kaito thought outloud.   
  
“And if you did that, you’d be an asshole giving her more work.” Maki told the other two, causing the boys to avoid her eyes and Kaede to start giggling. As the four of them stepped into the hot summer air, Maki didn’t even notice the skyrocketing temperature. She was  _ finally _ going to see one of Kaede’s performances. She’d never gotten the chance, never  _ taken  _ the chance. And yet here she was, and she couldn’t help but smile to herself. Kaede leaned forward to get a better look at it, but didn’t say anything for a few moments to break Maki out of the mood.   
  
“You ready to go, Maki?” Kaede finally said, angling her head towards the taxi.   
  
“Definitely, Kaede.” Maki half-grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay in the new chapter! Originally this would have more, but I ended up splitting this into Chapter3 and 4, so you can expect the next chapter within the week!
> 
> Thanks for reading, and thank you for all kudos and comments!


	4. Love's Sound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaede performs her concert, a finally makes a decision to be brave.

  
Kaede took a deep breath. She really shouldn’t have been this nervous - she’d walked on such a stage dozens, maybe even a hundred times. But every time, that pang of nerves and anxiety rose up in her. Breathing out rhythmically, she stepped out upon the stage to the thunderous applause of hundreds of well-dressed purveyors of the arts, all here to see her. She waved as she crossed the stage to the piano, as she always did, trying to scan the front rows to find them. And there they were, in the third row, her three best friends in the world clapping harder than anyone else in that theatre, all dressed more formally then Kaede had ever seen them. Kaito’s wild grin, Shuichi rare toothy smile, and then her eyes fell on Maki, smiling broadly at her, dressed in a long red dress that outright butchered the anxieties in her heart.   
_ “Compared to what’s coming up - this is the easiest thing in the world.” _ Kaede thought to herself. Finally, reaching her piano, Kaede beamed a smile to the crowd that seemed to light up the entire setting.    
  
And she began to play, full of the passion and love for her craft that only continued to grow.   
  
The performance was about an hour and a half - a bit longer then Kaede was used to, but nothing too harsh. That was the length of the her performance, but to the stunned crowd, it felt like mere moments; from the first second, the entire audience was spellbound, only being broken by the deafening applause between her pieces. To Kaede, it was all as simple as breathing - but just as always, she tried her best to make it her best performance she ever did. And as the final notes fell across the theatre and a momentary hush fell across the audience, Kaede really felt that this one ranked among her best. As she stood from the piano, she faced the massive standing ovation, that feeling of anxiety rising in her chest again, but met by a feeling of pride, and as her eyes fell upon her three friends an outburst of pure joy as a couple of happy tears dripped down her cheeks. This was the first time her friends had come to a performance of this scale, and to see them cheering louder than Kaede felt was physically possible. And seeing the girl who meant so much to her, usually so withdrawn and quiet cheering her heart out even more than her other friends, it made Kaede’s heart beat so hard.   
  
And that was when she made her decision.   
  


* * *

  
  
_ “Goddamnit, it’s never going to end with these two, isn’t it?”  _ Maki thought bitterly as herself and her two friends waited around the lobby for Kaede to emerge from the staff sections of the theatre. Despite the fact the three of them had applauded and cheered their hearts out at the end of Kaede’s performance, Shuichi and Kaito were mercilessly teasing Maki about her uncharacteristic reaction to Kaede’s performance - in particular, Kaito’s knowledge of Maki’s pining for Kaede underlined his jokes.   
  
“Lost your vocal cords, ay Maki?” Shuichi giggled, briefly silenced by Maki’s glare.   
“Come on, Shuichi, don’t tease her.” Kaito chuckled, Maki dreading what was coming next. “Maki-roll might just supplex you to get that joy out of her.” Maki audibly groaned as he laughed at his own dumb-ass remark.    
“Hey, hey Maki-” Shuichi seemed to have pulled another ‘good one’ out of his head, and Maki was just about ready to let him have it before the fourth member of the party arrived.   
  
“Sorry I was so long! The manager wanted to speak to me about the Sydney concert!” Kaede emerged from the staff section, redressed into her more casual outfit from earlier. “What were you guys laughing about?” Maki smugly smiled at her two friends, crossing her arms.   
“Yeah,  _ guys _ .” Maki glared. “What  _ were _ you two laughing about?” Shuichi and Kaito looked at each other, debating silently whether truth or lies were the answer here. Fear of Maki’s reprisal got the truth out of them, giving the former assassin some smug happiness out of her teasing, and just making Kaede pout at the two of them.   
  
“You two are asses.” Kaede groaned, crossing her arms. “I dunno why you’re teasing Maki so much, her cheering so much just made me know who cares about me the most.” As she said this, she wrapped an arm and around Maki’s shoulder, making her jump a little from surprise. “You two deserve each other, me and Maki can have some alone time from you jerks.” She didn’t really mean it, but the two boys knew that they sort deserved it, as they watched the retreating backs of their respective best friends.    
  
“Well, at least Maki-roll will be happy.” Kaito shrugged.   
“Kaede got what she want in the end, anyway.” Shuichi mumbled at the same time. A flat moment of silence fell between the two of them, before they both frowned and stared each other down.   
“Wait, what do you mean?” And thus, the two girls respective wingmen learnt that their friend’s apparent ‘one-sided feelings’ weren’t so one-sided after all. And so, Kaito and Shuichi laughed their heads off all the way back to the hotel, realising that things would’ve been a lot easier if the two of them had actually talked to each other about Kaede and Maki.   
  


* * *

  
  
After saying goodnight to their friends, Kaede and Maki retreated to their room, Kaede literally just falling flat-faced onto her bed as soon as she reached it, a long groan escaping from her covered mouth. Maki sat down on her bed, stretching out her legs for the first time that night.   
“This dress is just…ugh.” Maki grumbled, hiking up the dress so she rub her sore knees. Kaede was glad Maki couldn’t see her face as she just drank in the view in front of her. The red dress was just so unlike Maki, but in all honesty she looked more divine than Kaede had ever seen her. Pulling herself out of her stupor, Kaede made herself listen to Maki. “I’m going to have a quick shower, so you can get changed and all that, ok?” Maki smiled as Kaede made a vague ‘ok’ noise, seemingly restraining a laugh. Grabbing a towel and her pajama shorts and tank top, Maki disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Kaede’s thoughts reeling as she changed into her nightgown.

  
Sure, she’d decided it up on that stage. Seeing Maki cheer her heart out, looking so beautiful and wonderful, Kaede had decided she’d tell Maki exactly how she felt. But now that she was probably mere minutes away from that, she was panicking _hard_. How the hell do you confess your feelings? Kaede had only really had _friends_ in the last year, ever since coming to Hope’s Peak, and now here she was falling hard for one of her best friends. Forcing herself to get up, Kaede got changed into her pajama shirt and pants, pacing the room slightly as she waited for Maki. She’d spent months thinking this moment over, even talking to Shuichi about how the moment would go (despite Shuichi being even more hopeless with romantic matters). And here she was, someone who had just gotten a standing ovation, having a freak out of declaring love.  
  
“Ohhhhhh nooooooo.” Kaede mumbled, pacing the room again. “Ooooooooh noooooo-”   
  
“Uh, Kaede?” Maki’s voice shattered her anxiety, and Kaede basically turned on her heel, half staring at the now changed Maki, who seemed really confused (and a little amused) by Kaede’s noises. Months of preparation, wondering how this moment would go, all went blank in her mind, and Kaede just strode across the room and wrapped her arms around Maki’s shoulders, her friend giving a little yelp as she was tightly gripped. “Wait, K-Kaede, what are you d-doing?”  
  
“You… really loved my performance, didn’t you?” Kaede mumbled into her shoulder, not loosening her hug at all.   
“O-Of course, I always love watching you play-” Maki quietly said, slowly relaxing into the hug.  
“Not like normal. Not like the times I played at school. In that dress, in that place, that look on your face…” Finally Kaede slipped away, looking into Maki’s eyes as the object of her affections tried to avoid her gaze. She’d never appreciated the little details of Maki’s face, but being so close, Kaede felt she’d never been more beautiful.   
  
“Kaede, I just, I mean-” Maki spluttered, still trying not to look at Kaede, her face as red as that dress Kaede loved so much.  
“Maki.” Kaede mumbled. “You know how Kaito literally always becomes friends with someone by just telling them exactly how it is?” Maki finally looked at her, somewhat confused and intrigued. Why was she bring up Kaito? And it was true, Kaito literally became friends with Shuichi because he looked like a ‘cool bro’.   
“I-I guess? But Kaito’s an idiot for doing that-”  
“Then let me take a leaf out of the idiot’s playbooks, Maki, I-” Maki’s eyes opened up wide as she realised where this was going, and then a loud knock banged against the door, before it opened dramatically.  
  
“You guys must be really out of it…” Shuichi mumbled, wandering into the room, followed by the Purple Menace himself.  
“Anyone could have stolen your keys! You left them in the damn door! If we hadn’t been going out, someone could’ve broken in!” In later days, Kaede recalled a solid fifteen seconds of the four of them staring each other down, Kaede’s arms wrapped around Maki’s shoulders, the other three just watching each other open-mouthed, before Kaede’s face swiveled around to stare at the young men.  
“Get. Out.” Kaito immediately took the message and dropped the keys, vacating the room. Shuichi was slower, but Kaede piercing gaze quickly got him running as well. With the door closed, Kaede’s arms finally dropped from Maki’s shoulders and she dropped to Maki’s bed, feeling frustrated.  
  
“I can’t do this, I really can’t.” Kaede grumbled to herself, holding her head in her hands. Maki stayed rooted the spot, not sure what to do. Kaede hadn’t said it, but she was pretty sure she knew what was about to come out of her love’s mouth. Even with the doubt that still lingered, Maki realised how afraid Kaede had been to say what she thought. And then she became aware of her own fear, and her fight to conquer it. She’d made friends, attended a (relatively) normal school, and made herself a new life. And now there was just one thing she wanted to do. She was so scared of Kaede’s rejection, but now seeing Kaede trying to do the same, Maki was finally fed up with herself.  
  
“Fuck it.” Maki flat out said. Kaede looked up from Maki’s bed, and then gave out half a shriek as Maki lent down and picked her up easily, bridal style, before sitting down on her bed and placing Kaede in her lap.  
  
She had no idea why she did this.  
  
“Kaede, don’t say anything.” Maki mumbled, seemingly going through a panic attack as she tried to force the words out. “I really, really, _really_ like you.” Kaede looked as if she went through about four different emotions in about the space of a second. “And you really, really, _really_ like me, right?” As if she was made of stone, Kaede nodded, making Maki’s heart practically explode. The fact that she felt like the biggest idiot in the world right now didn’t help much, either.   
  
“Uh.” Kaede went paler then she’d ever gone before, the thousand thoughts flying through her brain at once slowing down any kind of reaction time she still possessed. She was notably stuck on that last little thing Maki had said. Y’know, that tiny, miniscule admission of attraction. And right as Kaede thought about that tiny, miniscule thing Maki had just said, it was like every single one of those thousand thoughts burst through her brain at once. “Yeah, I always liked how hot you were.”  
  
“ _Ah, death.”_ Kaede thought to herself peacefully. _“Take me now.”_   
  
Maki just started laughing. _Hard._ She just held Kaede in her lap and laughed her heart out at the fact of how stupid Kaede’s comment was. And it wasn’t long until Kaede was laughing, slowly leaning against Maki’s body as they just laughed and laughed and laughed.   
“You’re really dumb, Kaede.” Maki said bluntly, resting her chin against Kaede’s head. “Not Kaito levels, but pretty dumb.” Kaede giggled again, nodding.  
  
“Yep, that’s me. Hands of a goddess, intelligence of a bug.”   
  
“I thought people did a lot more talking when they told people they liked them.” Kaede mumbled.  
  
“W-Well, I’m not good at talking, so that’s probably the most you’re going to get out of me.” Maki pouted slightly and avoided Kaede’s gaze, suddenly embarrassed.  
  
“We’re hopeless, aren’t we?” Kaede giggled into Maki’s neck, smiling as her new girlfriend gripped her tightly in her lap. “Are we so dense that we couldn’t realise we were both so… I dunno… into each other?” Maki just looked down at her, and giggled again.  
  
“Yep. We’re both dumbasses.” And then they burst out laughing again, just holding each other tightly as their joy radiated off each other. For a very long time, the two girls sat in silence, Maki tightly gripping Kaede around the middle as she sat in her lap.  
  
“Hey, Maki~”. Kaede mumbled, looking up at Maki, a cheeky smile spreading across her cheeks. Maki knew this couldn’t be good.  
  
“W-What is it, Kaede?” Maki mumbled, meeting her gaze, trying not to be the weaker one and break away.   
  
“You didn’t ever actually ask me.” Kaede grinned, Maki’s heart fluttering as she did. “That you want to go out with me.” Maki swore somewhere inside her head, she knew Kaede wasn’t just trying to get a reaction out of her. Well, maybe she was, but she really wanted to hear it from the quiet girl’s lips.  
  
“Mrgrmrl.” Maki made some weird noise, but rather then grabbing her own hair as per her usual anxious gestures, she absent-mindedly ran a hand through Kaede’s blond locks, making the pianist tremble a little. “K-Kaede, you, uh, I mean.” She gulped, trying to get the words out despite how embarrassed she was. She noted that Kaede was loving every moment. “CanIbeyourgirlfriendorsomething.” She got it out very fast, and Kaede audibly snorted, clearly not on purposes, as she looked _really_ apologetic about it. Kaede just reached up and slipped her arms around Maki’s neck smiling as bright as the sun.  
  
“How could I refuse.” And she leant forward and lightly kissed Maki’s cheek - both of them turning as red as a bad sunburn.  
  
“Y-You’re lame, Kaede.” Maki grumbled, avoiding Kaede’s beaming gaze.  
  
“Says you!” Kaede giggled. Maki just grumbled again and silence reigned once again. Though, inside both of the girls, they were practically screaming about how happy they are. Maki was actively wondering if Kaede could feel how quickly her heart was beating. She hadn’t felt this kind of feeling in a long, long time - the only close thing she could describe to this feeling was actually meeting Shuichi, Kaito and Kaede at the start of the school year. And being accepted by them. Having real friends… For the first time in years.  
  
This was a different kind of special. But she wouldn’t trade either for the entire world.  
  
Kaede suddenly gave a great big yawn, and suddenly became aware of how late it was. Considering they had to plan for the ir move up to Sydney tommorow, they _really_ should’ve slept when they got back to the hotel. Not that she regretted any of this, at all.   
  
“Come on.” Maki mumbled, slightly shaking Kaede to get her to get up. “You need to sleep, dumbass.” Kaede made a childish, grumbling noises, just clutching Maki tightly.  
  
“No, I’m comfy.” Kaede said shortly, making Maki shake her head.  
  
“Come on.” Maki said again, and just stood up, holding Kaede again in her arms, her new girlfriends giggling nonsensically. “Geez, is it always going to be like this with you from now on?” Maki couldn’t hide the smile as Kaede nodded defiantly.  
  
“Yep!” Kaede grinned.  
  
“Then perish.” Maki chuckled, half throwing Kaede onto her bed, the pianist giggling all the way. “What, do you need me to tuck you in or something?”  
  
“You’re my girlfriend, not my mother.” Kaede giggled. “But if you’re asking~”.   
  
“Do it yourself.” Maki shrugged, turning to get the light, but she was anchored to the spot for a second as Kaede gripped her left hand.  
  
“You’re amazing.” Kaede whispered. “For making my concert only the second best thing to happen tonight.” Maki went bright red, but squeezed Kaede’s hand tightly all the same. “Thanks for being the brave one, here.”  
  
“I d-didn't do anything… but thanks, anyway.” Maki finally smiled back at Kaede, letting go of her hand, but not retreating to her bed yet. Squatting next to Kaede’s bed, she awkwardly planted a kiss on Kaede’s cheek, looking more awkward than ever. “G-Good night, Kaede. See you in the morning.” And as if to hide her embarrassment, Maki switched off the light and crawled into bed, yet still facing Kaede’s bed in the near total darkness. The two girls lay there for a long time in the darkness, not ready to sleep and end the magical night. After a long time…  
  
Maki…?” Kaede mumbled after a while.  
  
“Mm?” Maki made a noise.  
  
“Why did you pick me up and put me in your lap to tell me all that?” Kaede asked, suddenly making Maki aware that, oh, yeah, I actually did that.  
  
“...I don’t know.” Maki said, giggling a little bit. And their quiet laughter echoed in the room for a short while, before finally, sleep claimed the both of them and they were both blessed with the sweet dreams of one another.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter!
> 
> This ends what I guess is the Melbourne arc of this story! Next chapter, the gang will head to Sydney, and the foucs will shift a little from Maki and Kaede to our own Undynamic Duo, Kaito and Shuichi! Thanks for sticking with me this long, and I hope you enjoyed so far!

**Author's Note:**

> Next time, the gang arrives in Melbourne and discovers a city very different to the one they call home!
> 
> Thank you for reading, and any and all kudos and comments!


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